Xavier jolted awake, his mind filled with a dizzying storm of stars swirling in his vision. Groaning in pain, he forced his eyes open, only to be met by a ceiling that felt both alien and oppressive, a cold weight pressing down on him.
His body throbbed with a deep, unnamable ache, a phantom sensation that left him bewildered. As he blinked away the blurriness, a shock coursed through him—his arms were not merely resting above him; they were ensnared, shackled in icy chains that bit into his skin like cruel fangs. Worse still, he dangled upside down, gravity twisting the world into an uncomfortable whirl, each pulse of blood in his head accentuating the disorientation.
The room around him was a chilling amalgamation of the sterile and the sinister. Dim lighting flickered from overhead panels, creating an unsettling atmosphere, reminiscent of dying insects buzzing in the shadows. Stark steel walls loomed ominously, etched with bizarre, glowing symbols that pulsed softly in a haunting violet glow, casting eerie shadows that danced across the floor. The air was thick with the acrid smell of chemicals, mingling with an unnerving silence that felt almost alive.
"What the hell happened to me?" he muttered, his voice strained with frustration.
His memories were a murky haze, fragments swirling lazily until one sharp moment cut through the fog: the unexpected, overwhelming pain of being knocked out cold by a woman who had been shamelessly naked, her confidence jarring against his disbelief. A flush of embarrassment mixed with hot anger surged at the recollection. How could he have lost to her?
"This is ridiculous," he sighed, frustration spilling over like a cracked dam. "I have to get out of here."
He tried to move, but his body betrayed him. Panic shot through him, icy fingers wrapping around his throat as he strained and pushed against the chains. Nothing. Not even the slightest hint of movement. "What's going on?" he thought, bewildered. "Did she paralyze me? No, it doesn't feel like that…"
Desperation clawed at his insides, and he shook himself violently against the restraints, the chains rattling ominously in response. "No, no, no!" he thought, heart racing in a frantic drumbeat. Fear replaced confusion as he forced his head to tilt upward, gasping at the sight of cold metal locks and bindings encircling him in a cruel embrace.
"I'm trapped again!" he yelled, anger igniting like a wildfire within him. "Goddamn it!" He thrashed against his chains, but they remained unyielding. Here he was, suspended like a slab of meat in a butcher's shop, and the very thought of escape drove him into a frenzy.
Trying to suppress the rising tide of panic, he forced himself to focus on the harrowing surroundings. As his eyes darted across the room, a chill of dread washed over him.
Standing pods loomed ominously in the corners, each filled with a sickly green liquid that twisted his stomach with its foul odor. The grotesque contents hinted at something far worse—discolored body parts floated languidly, and he recoiled in horror as he recognized what looked like a human leg, gray and marred with gnarled purple veins. "What the hell is that?" he whispered, a tremor creeping into his voice.
He tore his gaze away, but the other pods were no less terrifying. Heads, arms, and remnants of bodies were reduced to horrifying mockeries of life. A body dangled from a metal chain, its skin a forbidding pitch black, horns sprouting grotesquely from its head, as eerie orange eyes stared vacantly into the void. He couldn't determine whether it was alive or dead, and the sight twisted his gut like a knife.
Then his eyes fell upon a monstrous figure—its violet skin glistened, and six sinewy arms writhed in futile protest against the confines of the board it was tethered to, groans escaping its throat like a lamentation for lost freedom. A cold dread settled deep within him.
Where the hell was he?
Suddenly, the memory crashed over him like a tidal wave: the mad letter detailing a base of horrors, a place where warped human experiments took place, where F-ranks were snatched from the world, never to return. And now, it appeared he was the latest victim, teetering on the precipice of becoming just another gruesome tale within this living nightmare.
"System," he called out urgently, desperation sparking hope against the tide of despair. "This isn't the time to hold back! I'm going to die! Give me anything—a weapon, a chance to escape!"
[The host can only obtain a weapon through system-assigned missions, gifts, or by mastering weapons in his possession.]
"Then gift me something, damn it! Or at least give me a mission! Before I'm dead!"
[If the host cannot overcome this challenge, he is unworthy of the system. It was not designed to make your life easier but to forge your strength through hardship.]
Silence enveloped Xavier as the chilly message rang in his mind. It was ice-cold comfort, yet he understood the hard truth—he was alone in this fight.
The room remained oppressively quiet, the occasional sound of the green liquid echoing disturbingly around him. Gritting his teeth against despair, he knew he had to try again. Culling every ounce of willpower, his focus sharpened on the gauntlets encasing his hands, channeling their latent power. He had to pull with every bit of strength he possessed. The Zenrokushu Gauntlets were reputed to have an impressive grip, but would they truly be strong enough to free him? There was only one way to find out.
This has to work," he muttered under his breath, his pulse quickening. "I refuse to be a lab rat or a guinea pig."
Just as he summoned all his might to yank the chain free, a whirring sound sliced through the silence. A massive slab of rock began to slide open, and instinctively, Xavier abandoned the gauntlets and flipped into his usual upside-down position, a reflex born from experience.
Through the dim light, a figure emerged. It was her—the woman who had knocked him out, the one with the piercing gaze that seemed to reach into the depths of his very being. Alarm surged through him as he took in her complete lack of clothing, her presence both captivating and chilling.
"Hey," she said casually, her smile unsettlingly bright. "You're awake. That's good."
Xavier swallowed hard, every instinct screaming at him to flee, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her enigmatic face. What had he walked into?